Adaptive filter with manageable resource sharing

ABSTRACT

The present application relates to an adaptive filter using manageable resource sharing and a method of operating the adaptive filter. The adaptive filter comprises a cluster controller configured for allocating each of several computational blocks to one of several clusters and a routing controller for configuring the routing of tapped delay signals by a routing logic to the respective cluster in accordance with an allocation of the tapped delay signals to the clusters. Each of computational blocks is configured for adjusting one filter coefficient, ci(n), in one cycle of an iterative procedure according to an adaptive convergence algorithm. The number of computational blocks is less than an order of the adaptive filter.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of European Patent application no. 16199542.8, filed on Nov. 18, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to an adaptive filter. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an adaptive filter using resource sharing of computational blocks for performing filter coefficient convergence algorithm. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a manageable sharing of computational block resources for an adaptive filter.

BACKGROUND

An adaptive filter is a computational device that attempts to model the relationship between two signals in real time in an iterative manner.

Such adaptive filters are used in many applications e.g. for canceling undesired signal components. Echo cancelers/equalizer (for inter-symbol interference cancellation) are a typical application of the adaptive filter for canceling an echo resulting from the trans-hybrid coupling of a hybrid circuit with an echo replica derived from the input signal of the adaptive filter. Adaptive filters are often realized either as a set of program instructions running on an arithmetical processing device such as a microprocessor or DSP chip, or as a set of logic operations implemented in a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or in a semicustom or custom VLSI integrated circuit.

The adaptive filter has a tapped-delay line and a tap-weight coefficient controller for producing a sum of tap signals weighted respectively by tap-weight coefficients. According to a known adaptive convergence algorithm such as the LMS (least mean square) algorithm, the tap-weight (filter) coefficients are updated by correlations between the tap signals and a residual error of a correction signal, which is represented by the sum of the weighted tap signals.

A preferably optimal use of the computational resources of the adaptive filter for performing the adaptive convergence algorithm is a major desire in view of power efficient implementation for a cost sensitive market.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides an adaptive filter with manageable resource sharing and a method of operating adaptive filter with manageable resource sharing as described in the accompanying claims. Specific embodiments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a general adaptive filter according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary adaptive filter according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a computational module for adjusting a filter coefficient of an adaptive filter according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary adaptive filter using computational resources sharing according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a block diagram of a computational module for adjusting filter coefficients of an adaptive filter with computational resources sharing according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates an adjusting procedure of the exemplary adaptive filter with computational resources sharing according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary adaptive filter using manageable computational resources sharing according to an example of the present invention;

FIGS. 8a, 8b and 9 show filter coefficient diagrams illustrating allocation of the tapped delay signals s(n−i) to different of signal sets {s(n−i)} according to examples of the present invention;

FIG. 10a schematically illustrates a diagram showing the development of filter coefficients over time according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 10b schematically illustrates a further diagram showing the development of filter coefficients over time according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 10c schematically illustrates a diagram showing the development of a filter coefficient over time with offset injection according to an example of the present invention;

FIG. 10d illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary development of the value of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time;

FIGS. 11a to 11d schematically illustrate flow diagrams of the method for injecting an offset according to examples of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary adaptive filter using computational resources sharing and offset injection according to an example of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are used to represent identical or equivalent elements in figures, and the description thereof will not be repeated. The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a general adaptive filter is schematically illustrated. A digital input signal s(n) is fed into the adaptive filter 100, which is arranged to compute a digital output signal y(n) at each time n. The digital output signal y(n) is a function of the digital input signal s(n) and a set of parameters including so-called filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The digital output signal y(n) is compared to a response or reference signal d(n) by subtracting the digital output signal y(n) and the reference signal d(n) at each time n. The difference signal e(n)=d(n)−y(n) is called error signal e(n), which is fed into a component, which is arranged to adapt the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) in accordance with an adaptive filter coefficient convergence algorithm. The adaptive convergence algorithm adapts the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) from time n to newly adapted filter coefficients c_(i)(n+1) at time (n+1), where i=0, . . . , L−1. The objective of the adaptive convergence algorithm is to minimize a cost function based on the error signal e(n). The parameters within the adaptive filter 100 may depend on its design and computational implementation.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of an exemplary adaptive filter according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated. The exemplary adaptive filter 100 comprises a finite number L of filter coefficients c₀ to c_(L−1). A coefficient vector can be written as C(n)=[c₀(n), c₁(n), . . . , c_(L−1)(n)]^(T).

Assuming a linear relationship between input signal s(n) and output signal y(n), the adaptive filter can take the form of a finite-impulse-response (FIR) filter as exemplified in herein with reference to FIG. 2. A finite-impulse-response (FIR) filter comprises a tapped-delay-line with L−1 delay elements 110.1 to 110.L−1 denoted “Z⁻¹” module and each filter coefficient is a multiplicative gain. The output signal y(n) can be written as

${y(n)} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{L - 1}{{c_{i}(n)}{s\left( {n - i} \right)}}} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{L - 1}{Y_{i}(n)}} = {{C(n)}{S(n)}}}}$

where S (n)=[s(n), s(n−1), . . . , s(n−L+1)]^(T) is the input signal vector.

As shown in FIG. 1, the adaptive filter comprises L multipliers 130.0 to 130.L−1 for multiplying each tapped delay signal s(n−i) with the respective filter coefficient c_(i)(n), where i=0 to L−1, and L−1 adders 140.2 to 140.L for adding the weighted output signal contributions Y_(i)(n). The adaptive filter further comprises at least 2L memory locations to store the L tapped delay signals s(n−1) and the L filter coefficients c_(i)(n).

The adaptive convergence algorithm of an adaptive filter for adjusting the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) is performed to minimize a cost function selected with respect to a respective use case of the adaptive filter. The adjusting of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) is performed in an iterative procedure: C(n+1)=C(n)+μ(n)·G(e(n), S(n), Φ(n))

where G(e(n), S(n), Φ(n)) is a nonlinear vector function, μ(n) is the so-called step size, e(n) is the error signal and S(n) is the input signal vector. Φ(n) is a vector of states that may be used to describe pertinent information of the characteristics of the input signal, error signal and/or filter coefficients.

The adaptive filter comprises a coefficient-adjusting module 125, which performs the aforementioned adaptive convergence algorithm. At least the error signal e(n) and the input signal vector S(n) is input to the coefficient adjusting module 125, which may further comprise at least L memory storage locations to store the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) and to supply the stored filter coefficients c_(i)(n) for generating the output signal y(n). Further parameters required by the adaptive convergence algorithm implemented in the coefficient-adjusting module 125 such as the step size μ(n) may be predefined and/or configurable.

Least mean squares (LMS) functions are used in a class of adaptive filters to mimic a desired filter by finding the filter coefficients that relate to producing the least mean squares of the error signal e(n) (difference between the desired and the actual signal). It is a stochastic gradient descent methodology in that the filter coefficients are only adapted based on the error signal at a current time.

In particular, LMS algorithms are based on the steepest descent methodology to find filter coefficients, which may be summarized as following: C(n+1)=C(n)+μ·e(n)·S(n) c _(i)(n+1)=c _(i)(n)+μ·e(n)·s(n−i)

where C(n)=[c₀(n), c₁(n), . . . , c_(L−1)(n)]^(T), S(n)=[s(n), s(n−1), . . . , s(n−L+1)]^(T), μ is the step size and L is the order of the filter.

The filter coefficients are determined in an iterative procedure starting with initial values of the filter coefficients C^(init)(n)=[c₀ ^(init)(n), c₁ ^(init)(n), . . . , c_(L−1) ^(init)(n)]^(T). The initial values are predefined. In a non-limiting example, the initial values of the filter coefficients c_(i) ^(init)(n) may be set to zero, i.e. C^(init)(n)=[0,0, . . . ,0]^(T)=zeros(L), but non-zero initial values likewise. As the LMS algorithm does not use the exact values of the expectations, the filter coefficients would never reach the optimal convergence values in the absolute sense, but a convergence is possible in mean. Even though the filter coefficients may change by small amounts, they change about the convergence values. The value of step-size μ should be chosen properly. In the following, a filter coefficient changing by small amounts about its optimal convergence value, will be referred to as a filter coefficient, which has reached steady state.

A LMS computational block 120.0 to 120.L−1 may be arranged for each filter coefficient c_(i)(n) of the adaptive filter shown in FIG. 2. Such a LMS computational block 120.0 to 120.L−1 comprises for instance two multipliers, an adder and a memory storage location as illustratively shown in form of a schematic block diagram in FIG. 3. It should be noted that the computational module of FIG. 3 is merely exemplary and not intended to limit the present application.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of a further exemplary adaptive filter according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated. The adaptive filter shown in FIG. 4 makes use of fixed computational resource sharing in order to reduce the implementation complexity and costs. The exemplary adaptive filter of FIG. 4 will be explained to introduce to the technique of resource sharing, which is the basis of the concept of the present application. The computational resources used for performing the adjustment of the filter coefficients are shared among the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of the adaptive filter. Only a subset of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) is adjusted at a current time, e.g. at time n, the remaining subset of filter coefficients c_(i)(n) are maintained and adjusted at a later point in time, e.g. at time n+1. Herein, n may be understood to designate the sampling index n further described below.

For the sake of illustration, the exemplary adaptive filter schematically shown in FIG. 4 is an adaptive filter with a filter order of L=6, which means that the tapped-delay-line has 5 delay elements 110.1 to 110.5 and provides six tapped delay signal s(n−i), i=0, . . . , 5, which are multiplied (weighted) with 6 filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The exemplary adaptive filter further comprises the LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5, wherein each of the LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5 is provided for adjusting two different ones of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The LMS computational block 120.1 is provided and configured to adjust the filter coefficients c₀(n) and c₁(n), the LMS computational block 120.3 is provided and configured to adjust the filter coefficients c₂(n) and c₃(n) and the LMS computational block 120.5 is provided and configured to adjust the filter coefficients c₄(n) and c₅(n). Each tapped delay signal s(n−i) and the associated filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is fixedly assigned to one of the computational blocks 120, which is fixedly shared with one or more further tapped delay signals s(n−i) and the associated filter coefficients c_(i)(n). Each computational block 120 is timely shared to perform the calculation for adjusting the two or more assigned filter coefficients c_(i)(n) according to the implemented filter coefficient convergence algorithm.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a LMS computational block such as each LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5 may comprises for instance two multipliers, an adder and two memory storage locations, which are selectively coupled to the adder, as illustratively shown in form of a schematic block diagram of FIG. 5. The calculation for adjusting one filter coefficient can be carried out at one cycle. Hence, each filter coefficient is updated each second cycle, which means that the convergence speed is halved in accordance with a respective sharing factor k=2.

With reference to FIG. 6, the adjusting procedure of the computational resources sharing exemplary adaptive filter of FIG. 4 is schematically illustrated. At time n, the tapped delay signal s(n−i), i=0, 2, and 4, are supplied to the respective ones of the LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5, at which the filter coefficients of a first subset c_(i)(n), i=0, 2, and 4, are adjusted. The second subset c_(i)(n), i=1, 3, 5, comprising the remaining filter coefficients are maintained, e.g. c_(i)(n)=c_(i)(n−1) for i=1, 3, 5. At time n+1, the tapped delay signal s(n+1−i), i=1, 3, and 5, are supplied to the respective ones of the LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5, at which the filter coefficients of the second subset c_(i)(n), i=1, 3, and 5, are adjusted. The filter coefficients of the first subset c_(i)(n+1), i=0, 2, 4, are maintained, e.g. c_(i)(n+1)=c_(i)(n) for i=0, 2, 4. At time n+2, the tapped delay signal s(n+2−i), i=0, 2, and 4, are supplied to the respective one of the LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5, at which the filter coefficients of the second subset c_(i)(n+2), i=0, 2, and 4, are adjusted. The filter coefficients of the first subset c_(i)(n+2), i=1, 3, 5, are maintained, e.g. c_(i)(n+2)=c_(i)(n+1) for i=1, 3, 5. The adjusting procedure is continued in the above described alternating manner for each next time step n=n+1.

This means that when using computational resources sharing each filter coefficient is updated each k-th iteration in time, herein k=2. In general, the computational resources sharing may be implemented with higher values of k, which will be denoted as sharing factor k in the following, wherein k is integer and k>1. The number of LMS computational blocks corresponds to the filter order L=6 divided by the sharing factor k=2: L/k=3. The exemplified adaptive filter comprises the three LMS computational blocks 120.1, 120.3 and 120.5.

Those skilled in the art understand that the above-described resource sharing scheme is only an illustrative scheme to improve the understanding of the concept of the present application but not intended to limit the present application.

The adjusting of filter coefficients in adaptive filter requires computational blocks configured to carry out the adaptive convergence algorithm. Each computational block is enabled to perform the adjusting procedure of one filter coefficient c_(i)(n) at one cycle. Therefore, the number of computational blocks in traditional adaptive filters corresponds to the order L of the adaptive filter or the number of tapped delay signal s(n−i) provided by the tapped-delay-line. In adaptive filters using computational resources sharing, the number of computational blocks is less than the order L of the adaptive filter. Accordingly, only a subset of the filter coefficients is adjusted in one cycle. In an example of the present application, the number of filter coefficients is an integer multiple of the number of filter coefficients in each subset. The integer multiple corresponds to the sharing factor k.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a block diagram of a yet another exemplary adaptive filter according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated. The adaptive filter shown in FIG. 7 makes use of manageable computational resource sharing.

The exemplary adaptive filter comprises a number of computational blocks 260. In particular, the number of computational blocks 260 is determined at implementation or design stage. Each of the computational blocks 260 is enabled to perform the adjusting procedure of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) at one cycle. The adjusting procedure is carried out in accordance with an adaptive convergence algorithm. The computational blocks 260 are accordingly configured. The computational blocks 260 are not fixedly assigned to one or more tapped delay signals s(n−i). A symbol routing logic 300 is provided in the adaptive filter, which is configurable to selectively route any tapped delay signals s(n−i) to any computational block 260. Hence, each of the computational blocks 260 is freely assignable to one tapped delay signal s(n−1) at one cycle.

For managing the computational blocks 260, each of the computational blocks 260 is allocated to one of a number of w clusters 250.j, wherein j=1, . . . , w and w is a positive non-zero integer. The number w of clusters is configurable. Each of the plurality of clusters 250.1 to 250.w comprises an individual set of Cj computational blocks 260, wherein j=1, . . . , w. The number of computational blocks 260.j comprised in each cluster 250.1 to 250.w may differ. For instance, the cluster 250.1 comprises a set of C1 computational blocks CB 260.1.1 to 260.1. C1, the cluster 250.2 comprises a set of C2 computational blocks CB 260.2.1 to 260.2. C2 and the cluster 250.w comprises a set of Cw computational blocks CB 260.w. 1 to 260.w.Cw.

The symbol routing logic 300 routes each one of a number of w sets of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w to a respective one of the clusters 250.1 to 250.w. Each set of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)} comprises Mj tapped delay signals s(n−i), wherein j=1, . . . , w. The number of tapped delay signals s(n−i) comprised by each set may differ. For instance, a first set {s(n−i)} of tapped delay signals s(n−i) is routed to the cluster 250.1 and comprises M1 tapped delay signals s(n−i), a second set {s(n−i)} of tapped delay signals s(n−i) is routed to the cluster 250.2 and comprises M2 tapped delay signals s(n−i), a w-th set {s(n−i)} of tapped delay signals s(n−i) is routed to the cluster 250.w and comprises Mw tapped delay signals s(n−i).

The number of sets of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w correspond to the number of clusters 250.1 to 250.w.

The filter coefficients c_(i)(n) are stored in a coefficient memory storage 270, to which the computational blocks 260 have access to read a respective filter coefficient c_(i)(n) from a respective memory location thereof and write an updated filter coefficient c_(i)(n) to the respective memory location thereof.

The allocation of each computational block 260 to a respective one of the clusters 250.1 to 250.w and the operation of the computational blocks 260 is under control of a cluster controller block 320. The cluster controller block 320 is configured to turn on/off the computational blocks 260 individually and/or cluster-wise. The cluster controller block 320 is further arranged to configure the computational blocks 260 to enable access to the required filter coefficient c_(i)(n) corresponding to the tapped delay signal s(n−i) supplied thereto by the symbol routing logic 300.

The routing of the tapped delay signals s(n−1) is under control of a routing controller block 310, which configures the symbol routing logic (300) accordingly. The routing controller block 310 is configured to allocate each tapped delay signal s(n−i) to one of the sets of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w. The routing controller block 310 configures the symbol routing logic 300 to route each set of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w to each respective one of the clusters 250.1 to 250.w. Each set of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w is assigned to one of the clusters 250.1 to 250.w. Each cluster 250.1 to 250.w receives the tapped delay signals s(n−i) of one set of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w.

The routing controller block 310 and the cluster controller block 320 receive information from a monitoring block 200, which has access to the coefficients memory 270 and which is arranged to monitor the development of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The monitoring block 200 is enabled to supply information relating to the development of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) to the routing controller block 310 and the cluster controller block 320, which are arranged to dynamically operate the exemplified adaptive filer based on the received information.

The operation of the adaptive filter with controllable computational resource sharing according to an embodiment of the present application will be further explained with reference to FIGS. 8a and 8b , which show exemplary filter coefficient plots.

As exemplified in the filter coefficient plot of FIG. 8a , the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) comprise more and less dominant coefficients or filter coefficients c_(i)(n) with higher and lower contribution. In the shown illustrative plot, the more dominant filter coefficients are located at the taps around tap number 30 (of 60 taps in total). The remaining filter coefficients may be considered as less dominant. It may be understood that the more dominant filter coefficients may have a lower convergence rate than the less dominant filter coefficient. It may be also understood that a shortened convergence of the more dominate filter coefficients improves the overall operation of the adaptive filter. Moreover, the contribution of the more dominant filter coefficients to the output signal y(n) is more significant than the contribution of the less dominant filter coefficients to the output signal y(n).

The controllable computational resource sharing enables to consider the above considerations in the operation of the adaptive filter while meeting performance requirements at a reduced power consumption.

The symbol routing logic 300 allows to partition the total number of L tapped delay signals s(n−i) generated on each sampling cycle by the tapped-delay-line into w signal sets of tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}.1 to {s(n−i)}.w. Each signal set may comprise a different number of tapped delay signals s(n−i). The total number of L tapped delay signals s(n−i) are for instance partitioned into the five sets 400.1 to 400.5, each comprising a different number of successive tapped delay signals {s(n−i)}, where i=, i₁, . . . , i₂, where i₁ and i₂ are integers, i₁<i₂, 0<i₁, i₂<L−1, and L is the order of the adaptive filter.

The total number of L tapped delay signals s(n−i) may be partitioned into sets based on the monitored, assumed or expected contribution levels to the output signal y(n). The total number of L tapped delay signals s(n−i) may be partitioned into sets based on the monitored, assumed or expected value amounts of the associated filter coefficients c_(i)(n). Initially a partitioning of the tapped delay signals s(n−i) to signal sets may be predefined, for instance, the tapped delay signals s(n−i) may be evenly assigned to signal sets having substantially the same number of tapped delay signals s(n−i), e.g. when the initial values of the filter coefficients are set to zero. When initially starting the filter coefficient adjusting with initial non-zero values, the allocation of the tapped delay signals s(n−i) to different signal sets may be based in the initial non-zero values, which may be considered to be indicative of levels of contribution or significance levels of the respective tapped delay signal s(n−i). During operation of the adaptive filter, the total number of L tapped delay signals s(n−i) may be repartitioned for instance in response to the monitored value amounts of the filter coefficients On).

As illustratively shown in FIG. 8a , the first signal set 400.1 and the last signal set 400.5 each comprise tapped delay signals s(n−i) with the smallest amount of value of the associated filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The third signal set 400.3 comprises tapped delay signals s(n−i) with the highest amount of value of the associated filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The second signal set 400.2 and the forth signal set 400.4 each comprise tapped delay signals s(n−i) with the medium amount of value of the associated filter coefficients c_(i)(n).

Each of the signal sets is associated to one of the clusters, herein five clusters according to the five signal sets. For instance, the cluster 1 is associated with the third signal set 400.3. Computational blocks are allocated to each one of the five clusters. The numbers of computational blocks allocated to the clusters may differ. However, as understood from the above discussion, the crucial factor, which defines the computational performance of a cluster, is given by the individual sharing factor k_(i), wherein i=1 to w and w is the number of clusters. The sharing factor k_(i) defines the ratio between the number of tapped delay signals and filter coefficients c_(i)(n), respectively, assigned to a cluster i and the number of computational blocks allocated to the cluster i. The sharing factors k_(i) of the different clusters may differ from each other.

The allocation of tapped delay signal s(n−i) may be performed based on one or more threshold levels applied to the amount values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) or the initial values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The allocation of the tapped delay signals to different sets values may be based on normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). Normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) may improve the comparableness. The allocation of the tapped delay signals s(n−i) to the five signal sets exemplified in FIG. 8a may be the result of two threshold levels applied to the amount values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). The amount values or normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) may be used for reallocation of the tapped delay signal s(n−i) to the signal sets.

In an example of the present application, clusters, to which signal sets with less dominant filter coefficients c_(i)(n) are assigned, may be operated with a higher sharing factor than clusters, to which signal sets with more dominant filter coefficients c_(i)(n) are assigned.

The cluster controller block 320 is arranged to allocate the computational blocks to the clusters. Initially, the computational blocks may be allocated to clusters according to an initial allocation scheme; for instance, the computational blocks may be evenly allocated to clusters comprising substantially the same number of computational blocks. During operation of the adaptive filter, the allocation of the computational blocks may be adapted for instance in response to the monitored contribution levels and/or the state of convergence of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n).

As further illustratively shown in FIG. 8b , the tapped delay signal s(n−i) may allocated to three signal sets 400.1, 400.2 and 400.3 based on one two threshold levels (cf. threshold low and threshold high) applied to normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). A number of N thresholds defines a number of N+1 (sub-) ranges of (normalized) filter coefficient values or value subranges.

The tapped delay signs are allocated to one of the N+1 signal sets (corresponding to the number N+1 of value subranges) based on the allocation of the values of the respective filter coefficient c_(i)(n) to the one of the N+1 value subranges. Accordingly, each signal sets may comprise one, two or more subsets of successive tapped delay signals s(n−i). Herein, the signal sets 400.1 and 400.2 each comprise two continuous subsets of tapped delay signal s(n−i) and the signal set 400.4 comprises one subsets of successive tapped delay signal s(n−i). Each of the three signal sets 400.1 to 400.3 is assigned to one of three clusters.

The number of computational blocks allocated to each of the three cluster may be further selected based on the normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) in the respective signal set. In case the normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of a signal set are low in comparison to the other ones, a low number of computational blocks is allocated to the respective cluster, which means that the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of the signal set with low values are adjusted using a high sharing factor k. In case the normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of a signal set are high in comparison to the other ones, a high number of computational blocks is allocated to the respective cluster, which means that the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of the signal set with high values are adjusted using a low sharing factor k. In case the normalized values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of a signal set are medium in comparison to the other ones, a medium number of computational blocks is allocated to the respective cluster, which means that the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) of the signal set with high values are adjusted using a medium sharing factor k.

Referring back to FIG. 8b , the cluster 1 may comprise a high number of computational blocks for adjusting the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) corresponding to the tapped delay signals s(n−i) of the signal set 400.3. The cluster 3 may comprise a low number of computational blocks for adjusting the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) corresponding to the tapped delay signals s(n−i) of the signal set 400.1. The signal set 400.1 comprises two subsets. The cluster 2 may comprise a medium number of computational blocks for adjusting the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) corresponding to the tapped delay signals s(n−i) of the signal set 400.2. The signal set 400.2 comprises two subsets.

Further referring to FIG. 9, the operation of the computational blocks of one or more clusters may be disabled by the cluster controller block 320. The cluster controller block 320 is arranged to individually and/or cluster-wise enable or disable the operation of the computational blocks. A disabling of the computational blocks of one or more clusters may be performed in response to the monitoring block 200, which is arranged to monitor the development of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) over time. Based on the monitoring of the development of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n), the monitoring block 200 is enabled to detect when filter coefficients c_(i)(n) have reached the steady state.

For instance, in case the filter coefficients c_(i)(n), which are assigned to one cluster for adjusting procedure has reached the steady state, the computational blocks of the cluster can be disabled at least temporarily to reduce the power consumption. In particular, the computational blocks of the cluster may be disabled for a predefined off-time interval Toff, after which the disabled computational blocks are put into operation again.

For the above-description, it is well understood that the suggested design of the adaptable filter with configurable computational resources sharing enables to flexibly and dynamically assign computational power for a configurable subset of tapped delay signals s(n−i) and filter coefficients c_(i)(n), respectively. Thereby, the available computational power of the computational blocks employed for performing the adjusting procedure according to an adaptive convergence algorithm is efficiently usable while the overall number of implemented computational blocks can be reduced to an economic number.

Although, the use of resource sharing and in particular manageable resource sharing can significantly improve the power and cost efficiency of adaptive filters, the convergence rate of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) my suffer. As schematically illustrated in and above described with reference to an adaptive filter as exemplarily shown in FIG. 5, the convergence time of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) increases when making use of computational resources sharing. The convergence time of a filter On) corresponds to the time period required by the adjusting procedure to yield to a value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n), which is substantially constant, which changes by small amounts only about its optimum convergence value, or which has reached steady state, in other words.

The reduced rate of convergence is further illustrated with reference to FIGS. 10a and 10b , which schematically illustrate the development of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) updated over time in accordance with an adaptive convergence algorithm such as the aforementioned LMS algorithm either with or without using resource sharing. Only for the sake of explanation, a substantial linear development of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is schematically illustrated. In general, the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) depends on the applied adaptive convergence algorithm. The parameter k indicates a factor relating to computational resource sharing. The parameter k corresponds to the above-described sharing factor k. When comparing the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time determined based on an adaptive convergence algorithm carried out on a convergence module without computational resource sharing, on the one hand, and carried out on a convergence module using computational resource sharing with a sharing factor k, on the other hand, the slopes of the curve defined by the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time are different. The slope of the curve determined using computational resource sharing is substantially reduced by the sharing factor k. Accordingly the convergence rate is significantly increased when using computational resource sharing.

In order to improve the convergence rate, an offset determined based on the monitored development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n). The determined offset is injected to the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) at predefined periods of time. The injection of the determined offset is stopped in case the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) varies about the convergence value, which is indicative of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) having reached the steady state.

The offset Off_(i) is determined based on a value difference of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n). The value difference Δ_(i) is determined over a period of time N·T_(s), where T_(s) is the sampling time and fs is the sampling frequency of the adaptive filter (Ts=1/f_(s)) and N is an predetermined integer value, N≥1, wherein

${c_{i}^{\prime}(n)} \approx \frac{{c_{i}(n)} - {c_{i}\left( {n - N} \right)}}{N}$ Δ_(i)(n) = N ⋅ c_(i)^(′)(n) = c_(i)(n) − c_(i)(n − N)

The value difference Δ_(i) is determined with n=0, wherein n is a sampling index relating to the sampling time T_(s). The sampling index n=0 is indicative of the start of the filter coefficient adjusting procedure.

The value difference Δ_(i)(n) is further determined each period of time M·N·T_(s) after the potential injection of the offset Off_(i). The value difference Δ_(i) ^(j)(j) is hence determined at n=j·M·N, where j=1, 2, 3 . . . (t=n·T_(s)). Accordingly,

$\begin{matrix} {{\Delta_{i}^{j}(j)} = {\Delta_{i}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)}} \\ {= {N \cdot {c_{i}^{\prime}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)}}} \\ {= {{c_{i}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)} - {c_{i}\left( {j \cdot M \cdot N} \right)}}} \end{matrix}$

At each period of time M·N·T_(s), the offset Off_(i) is added to the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) provided that the current slope of the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is below a predefined threshold. A current slope of the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) below the predefined threshold is considered to be indicative of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) slightly varying about the optimal convergence value.

The offset Off_(i)(j) is determined based on the value difference Δ_(i) ^(j)(j) and the sharing factor k:

$\begin{matrix} {{{Off}_{i}(j)} = {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot M \cdot {\Delta_{i}^{j}(j)}}} \\ {= {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot M \cdot N \cdot {c_{i}^{\prime}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)}}} \\ {= {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot M \cdot \left\lbrack {{c_{i}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)} - {c_{i}\left( {j \cdot M \cdot N} \right)}} \right\rbrack}} \end{matrix}$

When using the above vector representation, the offset Off_(i)(j) can be described as following:

${C^{\prime}(n)} \approx \frac{{C(n)} - {C\left( {n - N} \right)}}{N}$ ${\overset{\_}{\Delta}(n)} = {{N \cdot {C^{\prime}(n)}} = {{C(n)} - {C\left( {n - N} \right)}}}$ $\begin{matrix} {{\overset{\_}{Off}(j)} = {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot M \cdot {\overset{\_}{\Delta}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)}}} \\ {= {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot M \cdot N \cdot {C^{\prime}\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)}}} \\ {= {\left( {k - 1} \right) \cdot M \cdot \left\lbrack {{C\left( {{j \cdot M \cdot N} + N} \right)} - {C\left( {j \cdot M \cdot N} \right)}} \right\rbrack}} \end{matrix}$

wherein C′(n)=[c′₀(n), c′₁(n), . . . , c′_(L−1)(n)]^(T), Δ(n)=[Δ₀(n), Δ₁(n), . . . , Δ_(L−1)(n)]^(T), and Off(j)=[Off₀(j), Off₁(j), . . . , Off_(L−1)(j)]^(T).

Hence, the offset can be written as following:

${\overset{\_}{Off}(n)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix} {\overset{\_}{Off}\left( {\frac{n}{M \cdot N} - 1} \right)} & {{{if}\mspace{14mu} n\mspace{14mu}{mod}\mspace{14mu}\left( {M \cdot N} \right)} = 0} \\ 0 & {otherwise} \end{matrix} \right.$

and the injection can be written as following: C(n)=C(n)+Off(n)

As schematically illustrated in FIG. 10c :

t = 1 ⋅ M ⋅ N ⋅ T_(s):  c_(i)(n) = c_(i)(n) + Off_(i)(0), wherein  n = 1 ⋅ M ⋅ N  and  j = 0; t = 2 ⋅ M ⋅ N ⋅ T_(s):  c_(i)(n) = c_(i)(n) + Off_(i)(1), wherein  n = 2 ⋅ M ⋅ N  and  j = 1; t = 3 ⋅ M ⋅ N ⋅ T_(s):  c_(i)(n) = c_(i)(n) + Off_(i)(2), wherein  n = 3 ⋅ M ⋅ N  and  j = 2; t = 4 ⋅ M ⋅ N ⋅ T_(s):  c_(i)(n) = c_(i)(n) + Off_(i)(3), wherein  n = 4 ⋅ M ⋅ N  and  j = 3; … t = (j + 1) ⋅ M ⋅ N ⋅ T_(s):  c_(i)(n) = c_(i)(n) + Off_(i)(j), wherein  n = (j + 1) ⋅ M ⋅ N; and  further otherwise:  c_(i)(n + 1) = c_(i)(n) + μ ⋅ e(n) ⋅ s(n − i)

The adaptive convergence algorithm is performed for at each cycle, whereas offsets are injected on a periodic basis having a period greater than the iteration cycle of the adaptive convergence algorithm.

It should be noted that current slopes of the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) at the above-mentioned points in time (j+1)·M·N·T_(s), j=0, 1, 2 . . . are positive such that the offset Off_(i)(j) is added. Otherwise, if the slope is negative, the offset Off_(i)(j) would be subtracted. As described below, the slope may be approximated by a difference quotient determined with respect to a predefined period of time, which may be shorted than the injection period.

FIG. 10d illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary development of the value of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time. Offsets are periodically injected until the value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has substantially (e.g. approximately) reaches its optimal convergence value. The diagram of FIG. 10d the development of the value of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time using an adaptive filter with computational resource sharing and offset injection (solid line); the development of the value of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time using an adaptive filter with computational resource sharing without offset injection (dash line); and the development of the value of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time using an adaptive filter without computational resource sharing (dash-dot-dot line).

The convergence rate of the adaptive filter with computational resource sharing and offset injection substantially corresponds to the convergence rate of the adaptive filter without computational resource sharing. The convergence rate of the adaptive filter with computational resource sharing (and without offset injection) is significantly lower.

Referring now to FIG. 11a , a schematic flow diagram is illustrated showing an exemplary implementation of the method to improve the convergence rate of an adaptive filter with computational resource sharing. An example of an adaptive filter with computational resource sharing has been above discussed in more detail.

The improved convergence rate of a filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is obtained by an offset value Off_(i)(j), which is added or subtracted at a predetermined period of time. The adding or subtracting of the offset value Off_(i)(j) depends on a current slope of the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n), in particular the adding or subtracting depends on whether the slope is positive (raising filter coefficient) or negative (falling filter coefficient). The offset value Off_(i)(j) is based on a periodically determined value difference Δ_(i)(j), wherein j is an index to the periods.

The method performs with respect to the sampling time T_(s) and the sampling index n, respectively, wherein time t=n·T_(s) and n=0, 1, 2 . . .

In an initial operation S100, the adaptive convergence algorithm is initialized and values are assigned for a first time period T₁ and a second time period T₂. Typically, the sample index n is set to n=n₀ and the initial value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is set to c_(i)(n)=c_(i) ^(init)(n). In an example, the sample index n is set to n₀=0. In an example, the initial value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is set to c_(i)(n)=0. The sharing factor k is predefined by the implementation of the adaptive filter with computational resources sharing. A threshold value TH is assigned, which allows to determine whether or not the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has reached the steady state.

The first time period T₁ is defined with respect to two parameter N and M, where N and M are integers and N>1, M>1. For instance, the first time period T₁=N·M·T_(s). The second time period T₂ is defined with respect to the parameter N. For instance, the second time period T₂=N·T_(s). In an example, the parameter N is greater than the sharing factor k (N>k). The second time period T₂ occurs M times in the first time period T₁.

In an operation S100, the sample index is increased by one (n=n+1).

In an operation S120, the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is monitored. The development is monitored on the basis of the change of the value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) developing over time. For instance, a slope is determined from the value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n), in particular with respect to the second time period T₂.

In an operation S130, it is determined whether or not an offset is injected into the iteration of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n). In particular, such offset is injected each first time period T₁, only. More particularly, the offset is only injected in case the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has not reached the steady state, e.g. in case an absolute value of the monitored slope exceeds the predefined threshold TH, which is considered as indicative of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) still significantly differing from the optimal convergence value. The offset to be injected is based on the monitored slope and further on the sharing factor.

In an operation S140, the iteration to calculate the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is performed. In accordance with the present example, the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is determined using the LMS algorithm: c _(i)(n+1)=c _(i)(n)+μ·e(n)·s(n−i)

The step size μ may be predefined in the initial operation. For the sake of completeness it should be noted that the step size μ may be a variable parameter dependent on the sampling index n: μ=μ(n).

Referring now to FIG. 11b , a schematic flow diagram is illustrated showing an exemplary implementation of the monitoring of the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n).

In an operation S200, the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is monitored based on the development of the value of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) within the first time period T₁. For instance, a slope or a value difference is determined at least at the beginning of each first time period T₁ and the ending of each first time period T₁. The slope or value difference is determined from the change of the values of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n), e.g. over the second time period T₂.

In an operation S210, it is determined whether or not the second time period T₂ has lapsed. For instance, if the current sampling index n is a multiple of N and n is not zero (n>0) then the second time period T₂ has lapsed as indicated by following condition n mod N=0

In case the second time period T₂ has lapsed, a slope or value difference is determined in an operation S220. The slope is determined based on the change of the filter coefficient value c_(i)(n) over time/sampling index. In an example, the slope c_(i) ′ determined based on the values of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) and filter coefficient c_(i)(n−N) at sampling index n and n−N:

$c_{i}^{\prime} \approx \frac{{c_{i}(n)} - {c_{i}\left( {n - N} \right)}}{N}$

Alternatively, the value difference Δ_(i) may be determined, which should be considered as an equivalent value to the aforementioned slope: Δ_(i) =c _(i)(n)−c _(i)(n−N)=N·c _(i)′(n)

In an operation S230, it is determined whether or not the determined slope c_(i)′ or change Δ_(i) relates to the beginning of the first time period T₁, for instance the first occurrence of the second time period T₂ in the first time period T₁: (n−N) mod (N·M)=0

If the determined slope or value difference relates to the beginning of the first time period T₁ then the slope c_(i)′ or change Δ_(i) may be stored in an operation S240 for later use. The stored slope c_(i)* or change Δ_(i)* is used for determining the offset.

In an operation S250, the monitoring of the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is completed.

Referring now to FIG. 11c , a schematic flow diagram is illustrated showing an exemplary implementation of the injecting of an offset.

In an operation S300, injecting an offset into the iteration of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is performed provided that the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has not reached steady state.

In an operation S310, it is determined whether or not the first time period T₁ has lapsed. For instance, if the current sampling index n is a multiple of N·M and n is not zero (n>0) then the first time period T₁ has lapsed as indicated by following condition n mod (N·M)=0

If the first time period Ti has lapsed, the offset Off_(i) is determined in an operation S320. The offset Off_(i) is based on the stored slope c_(i)* or change Δ_(i)* to consider the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over the first time period T₁. The offset Off_(i) is further based on the sharing factor k, which enables to consider the reduced convergence rate because of the computational resources sharing of the adaptive filter. For instance, Off_(i)=(k−1)·c_(i) *·M·N;or Off_(i)=(k−1)·Δ_(i) *·M

As aforementioned, the offset Off_(i) is injected into the iteration of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) if the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has not reached steady state.

In an operation S330, the current slope c_(i)′ or the current value difference Δ_(i) is compared against the predefined threshold TH. The current slope c_(i)′ is for instance determined from a difference quotient based on the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) at different points in time, e.g. points in time n and (n−N). The current value difference Δ_(i) is for instance determined from a value difference based on the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) at different points in time, e.g. points in time n and (n−N). In an example, the current slope c_(i)′ is the slope determined by the previous operation relating to the monitoring of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n). In an example, the current value difference Δ_(i) is the value difference determined by the previous operation relating to the monitoring of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n). |c_(i)′|<TH_(c);or |Δ_(i)|<TH_(Δ)

wherein TH_(Δ)≈TH_(c)·N in the present example.

If an absolute value of the current slope c_(i)′ or the current value difference Δ_(i) is less (or equal to) than the predefined threshold (TH_(c) and TH_(Δ), respectively), it is assumed that the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has reached the steady state and only slightly varies about the optimal convergence value. In this case, the offset Off_(i) is not injected.

Otherwise, if the absolute value of the current slope c_(i)′ or the current value difference Δ_(i) is greater than the predefined threshold, the offset Off_(i) is injected into the iteration calculation of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) in an operation S340; for instance: c _(i)(n)=c _(i)(n)+Off_(i)

In an operation S350, the injecting of an offset is completed.

Referring now to FIG. 11d , a schematic flow diagram is illustrated showing a further exemplary implementation of the injecting of an offset.

In an operation S300′, injecting an offset into the iteration of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is performed provided that the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has not reached steady state.

In an operation S310, it is determined whether or not the first time period T₁ has lapsed. If the first time period T₁ has lapsed, the offset Off_(i) is determined in an operation S320.

In an operation S330, the current slope c_(i)′ or the current change Δ_(i) is compared against the predefined threshold TH (TH_(c) and TH_(Δ), respectively).

If an absolute value of the current slope c_(i)′ or the current value difference Δ_(i) is less (or equal to) than the predefined threshold, it is assumed that the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) has reached the steady state and only slightly varies about the optimal convergence value. In this case, the offset Off_(i) is not injected.

Otherwise, if the absolute value of the current slope c_(i)′ or the current value difference Δ_(i) is greater than the predefined threshold, the offset Off_(i) is injected into the iteration calculation of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n).

The operations S310 to S330 correspond to the respective operations described above with reference to FIG. 11c . An unnecessary repetition is omitted.

In an operation S340, it is determined whether the development of the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) over time shows an ascending or descending behavior. Whether the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) ascends or descends over time can be determined from the current slope c_(i)′ or the current value difference Δ_(i). If the current slope c_(i)′ or the current change Δ_(i) is greater than 0, the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) ascends over time, otherwise if the current slope c_(i)′(n) or the current change Δ_(i) is less than 0, the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) descends over time: c_(i)′, Δ_(i)>0: ascending or c_(i)′, Δ_(i)<0: descending.

If the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) ascends over time, the offset Off_(i) is added in an operation S370: c _(i)(n)=c _(i)(n)+Off_(i)

If the filter coefficient c_(i)(n) descends over time, the offset Off_(i) is subtracted in an operation S380: c _(i)(n)=c _(i)(n)−Off_(i)

In an operation S90, the injecting of an offset is completed.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a block diagram of another exemplary adaptive filter according to an embodiment of the present application is schematically illustrated. The adaptive filter shown in FIG. 12 has a filter order L and makes use of computational resource sharing in order to reduce the implementation complexity and costs.

According to the filter order L, the tapped-delay-line has L−1 delay elements 110.1 to 110.L−1 and provides L tapped delay signal s(n−i), i=0, . . . , L−1.

The exemplified adaptive filter of FIG. 12 has a sharing factor k=3. This means that one computational blocks is provided for three filter coefficients c_(i)(n) each. Accordingly, the exemplified adaptive filter comprises L/k computational blocks 120.1 to 120.L/k. At each cycle, a subset of L/k filter coefficients are adjusted.

The LMS computational block 120.1 is for instance used to adjust the filter coefficients c₀(n) to c₂(n) and the LMS computational block 120.L/k is for instance used to adjust the filter coefficients c_(L−3)(n) to c_(L−1)(n) Those skilled in the art will understand that the computational resources sharing exemplary adaptive filter of FIG. 12 is only one illustrative example of a computational resources sharing adaptive filter and the present application is not intended to be limited thereto.

The adaptive filter further comprises L multipliers 130 for multiplying each tapped delay signal s(n−i) with the respective filter coefficient c_(i)(n), where i=0 to L−1, and L−1 adders 140 for adding the weighted output signal contributions Y_(i)(n) to obtain the output signal y(n). The adaptive filter further comprises at least L memory locations to store the L filter coefficients c_(i)(n).

The adaptive filter further comprises a monitoring block 200, which has access to the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) and which is arranged to monitor the development of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). In particular, the monitoring block 200 is configured to carry out the method of monitoring in particular as described above with reference to the flow diagrams shown in FIGS. 11a and 11 b.

The adaptive filter further comprises a offset calculation block 210, which receives information from the monitoring block 200 about the development of the values of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) and is arranged to compute offsets values Off_(i) for the filter coefficients c_(i)(n) on a periodic time scale and inject the computed offsets Off_(i) into the adjusting procedure of the filter coefficients c_(i)(n). In particular, the offset computation block 210 is configured to carry out the method of monitoring in particular as described above with reference to the flow diagrams shown in FIGS. 11a, 11c and 11 d.

It should be noted that the offset injection should not be understood to be limited to the LMS (least mean square) algorithm for adjusting the filter coefficient, with regard to which the methodology to improve the convergence rate has been illustratively explained above. The LMS algorithm is but one of an entire family of algorithms, which are based on approximations to steepest descent procedures. The family of algorithms further comprises for instance the sign-error algorithm, the sign-delta algorithm, sign-sign algorithm, zero-forcing algorithm and power-to-two quantized algorithm. The steepest descent procedures are based on the mean-squared error (MSE) cost function, which has been shown as useful for adaptive FIR filters. However, further algorithm are known, which are based on non-MSE criteria. The illustrated offset injection is in principle applicable with iteratively determined filter coefficients in the above-mentioned general form: C(n)=C(n)+Off(n) C(n+1)=C(n)+μ(n)·G(e(n), S(n), Φ(n))

Although the technique of offset injection has been described above with reference to an adaptive filter with fixed resource sharing, it is immediately understood by those skilled in the art for this disclosure that aforementioned offset injection technique is likewise applicable with the adaptive filter with configurable computational resources sharing described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. In particular, the offset injection is operative with each cluster 250.1 to 250.w having an individual sharing factor k_(j), j=1, . . . , w. The offset to be injected is hence determined on the basis of the development of the individual filter coefficient c_(i)(n) and the sharing factor k_(j) of the one cluster 250.j, at which the convergence procedure for the individual filter coefficient c_(i)(n) is performed. The offset calculation block 210 may be arranged with the monitoring block 200 and the filter coefficient memory 270. The monitoring block 200 further is configured as described above to enable the offset calculation block 210 to determine offsets Off_(i) for the filter coefficient c_(i)(n). The calculated offsets Off_(i) may be periodically injected the adaptive convergence algorithm via access to the filter coefficient memory 270. The sharing factor k_(j) may be determined from information supplied by the routing controller block 310 and the cluster controller block 320. The information is for instance indicative of the number of tapped delay signals in each of the signal sets {(s(n−i)} and the number of computational blocks 260 in each cluster 250.1 to 250.w, respectively.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To illustrate clearly this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   100: adaptive filter; -   110: delay element Z⁻¹; -   110.1: delay element Z⁻¹; -   110.5: delay element Z⁻¹; -   110.L−1: delay element Z⁻¹; -   120: computational block/LMS computational block; -   120.0: computational block; -   120.1: computational block; -   120.3: computational block; -   120.5: computational block; -   120.L−1: computational block; -   125: coefficient-adjusting module; -   130: multiplier; -   130.0: multiplier; -   130.L−1: multiplier; -   140: adder; -   140.2: adder; -   140.L: adder; -   200: monitoring block; -   210: offset calculation block; -   230: cluster controller; -   250: cluster/cluster of computational blocks; -   250.1: cluster/cluster of computational blocks; -   250.2: cluster/cluster of computational blocks; -   250.j: cluster/cluster of computational blocks; -   250.w: cluster/cluster of computational blocks; -   260: computational block; -   260.1: computational block; -   260.2: computational block; -   260.j: computational block; -   260.w: computational block; -   260.1.1: computational block (of cluster 250.1); -   260.1.C1: computational block (of cluster 250.1); -   260.2.1: computational block (of cluster 250.2); -   260.2.C2: computational block (of cluster 250.2); -   260.w.1 computational block (of cluster 250.w); -   260.w.Cw computational block (of cluster 250.w); -   270: memory storage/filter coefficients memory; -   300: routing logic/symbol routing logic; -   310: routing controller/routing controller block; -   320: cluster controller/cluster controller block; -   400: signal set/set of tapped delay signals; -   400.1: signal set/set of tapped delay signals; -   400.2: signal set/set of tapped delay signals; -   400.3: signal set/set of tapped delay signals; -   400.4: signal set/set of tapped delay signals; -   400.5: signal set/set of tapped delay signals. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. An adaptive filter using resource sharing, said adaptive filter comprising: a tapped-delay-line providing L tapped delay signals, wherein L is a filter order of the adaptive filter, wherein L is a number; a number of computational blocks each configured for adjusting one filter coefficient, in one cycle of an iterative procedure according to an adaptive convergence algorithm, wherein the number of computational blocks is less than the filter order L; a cluster controller configured for allocating each of the computational blocks to one of a number of w clusters, wherein w is a positive integer; and a symbol routing logic arranged for routing a set of tapped delay signals, to each cluster, wherein the computational blocks of each cluster are provided for adjusting the filter coefficients, associated with the set of tapped delay signals, routed to the respective one of the clusters, wherein the computational blocks of each cluster are timely shared among the filter coefficients, of one set of tapped delay signals; and a routing controller provided for configuring the routing of the tapped delay signals to the respective cluster in accordance with the allocation thereof.
 2. The adaptive filter of claim 1, further comprising: a monitoring block configured to monitor developments of the filter coefficient, over time.
 3. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the cluster controller is configured to dynamically reallocate the computational blocks to a respective one of the clusters.
 4. The adaptive filter of claim 3, wherein the cluster controller is configured to reallocate the computational blocks to one of the clusters in response to information relating to the developments of the filter coefficient, generated by the routing controller.
 5. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the cluster controller is configured to disable computational blocks in response to information relating to the developments of the filter coefficient, generated by the routing controller.
 6. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the cluster controller is configured to selectively disable the computational blocks allocated to one of the clusters in response to information relating to the developments of the filter coefficient, generated by the routing controller.
 7. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the routing controller is adapted to dynamically route each one of the tapped delay signals, to one of the clusters.
 8. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein each set of tapped delay signals, comprises one or more subsets of successive tapped delay signals, wherein i =i₁, . . . i₂, wherein i₁ and i₂ are positive integers, i₂>i₁.
 9. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the monitoring block is configured to detect whether or not a filter coefficient, has reached the steady state; wherein the cluster controller is configured to disable the computational blocks allocated to one of the clusters in response to the monitoring block detecting that the filter coefficient, associated with the set of tapped delay signals, routed to the one cluster have reached the steady state.
 10. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the cluster controller is configured to disable the computational blocks of at least one of the cluster for a predefined off-time period, T_(off).
 11. The adaptive filter of claim 1, wherein the monitoring block is configured to detect contribution levels of the filter coefficients, wherein more dominant filter coefficients, have a higher level of contribution to an output signal, of the adaptive filter than less dominant filter coefficients, wherein the cluster controller is configured to allocate the numbers of computational blocks to the clusters depending on the detected contribution levels of the filter coefficients, wherein the routing controller is configured to individually allocate a number of tapped delay signals in each set of tapped delay signals, routed by the symbol routing logic to the respective cluster depending on the detected contribution levels of the filter coefficients associated with the respective set of tapped delay signals.
 12. A method of operating an adaptive filter using resource sharing, wherein said adaptive filter comprises a tapped-delay-line providing L tapped delay signals, wherein L is a filter order of the adaptive filter, wherein L is a number, and a number of computational blocks each configured for adjusting one filter coefficient, in one cycle of an iterative procedure according to an adaptive convergence algorithm, wherein the number of computational blocks s less than the filter order; said method comprising: allocating each of a plurality of computational blocks to one of a number of w clusters, wherein w is a positive integer; allocating the tapped delay signals, to a number of w sets, wherein the number of w clusters corresponds to the number of w sets of the tapped delay signals; and routing each tapped delay signals of the sets, to one respective one of the clusters, wherein the computational blocks of each cluster are timely shared among the filter coefficients, associated with the tapped delay signals, of the respective set, routed thereto.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the tapped delay signals, are allocated to a respective one of the sets, based on the value of the filter coefficients, associated with the tapped delay signals.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: monitoring development of the filter coefficients, over time. 